Special Events

Special Events | Walking Tours | School Tours | Customized Tours | Self-Guided Tours | Woodville Plantation

2010 SPECIAL EVENTS

PHLF has been leading tours of the Pittsburgh region and offering special events for 45 years. Join staff members and specially-trained docents on the following events and add to your knowledge of Pittsburgh present and past. Tours go rain or shine––and are always lively, inspiring, memorable and meaningful events.

Tours are open to members of PHLF and to the general public, unless otherwise noted. Students qualify for the member fee. Click here to become a member of the Landmarks Heritage Society, which will enable you to attend two invitation-only special events this year (see June 23 and October 1).

Space on tours is limited, so make your reservations soon! For reservations contact: marylu@phlf.org; 412-471-5808, ext. 527

Event details listed below are subject to change. Check back for updates.

Exclusive County Buildings Walking Tour

Here’s your chance to walk across the Bridge of Sighs––without going to jail. We’ll explore two of Pittsburgh’s most famous buildings: the City-County Building and Allegheny County Courthouse and former Jail. In the City-County Building you’ll see the City Council Chambers and Jury Assignment Room. In the Courthouse and former Jail you’ll see the restored Courtroom 321, Bridge of Sighs, Jail Museum, and former Warden’s house. Plus, you’ll hear about the new “green” roof on the County Office Building Annex.

Time: 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Meeting Location: City-County Building, 414 Grant Street, downtown Pittsburgh (at the Richard Caliguiri statue)

Fee: $10 PHLF members and students; $25 non-members
Questions/Reservations: marylu@phlf.org; 412-471-5808, ext. 527
Limited to 20 people. (If more people call, we will schedule a second tour for another 20 people from 1:30 – 5:30 p.m.)

Book Signing and New Members’ Reception

Attend a book-signing in honor of Lu Donnelly, Landmarks trustee and editor and principal author of Buildings of Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania (University of Virginia Press, March 2010; $75.00). You’ll also be able to tour our James D. Van Trump Library and Frank B. Fairbanks Rail Transportation Archive. The Grand Concourse will provide light refreshments.

Time: 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Meeting Location: PHLF Offices, The Landmarks Building, Suite 450, Station Square
Fee: Free PHLF members (one of the benefits!); $20 non-members
Questions/Reservations: marylu@phlf.org; 412-471-5808, ext. 527

Twentieth Century Club Lecture, Tour, and Dinner

Join us for an illustrated lecture by David Vater, architect and Landmarks trustee, on the design and iconography of Oakland’s Twentieth Century Club (Janssen & Cocken, 1929–30). A tour of the club and dinner will follow. Members and friends have enjoyed similar events at Longue Vue Country Club, Edgewood Club, and Fox Chapel Golf Club.

Time: 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Meeting Location: 4201 Bigelow Boulevard, Oakland
Fee: $35 PHLF and Twentieth Century Club members and students; $50 non-members
Questions/Reservations: marylu@phlf.org; 412-471-5808, ext. 527
RSVP: By May 5

Oakmont Country Club
For Landmarks Heritage Society Members Only

(Heritage Society Membership requires an annual contribution of $1,000 or more or a planned gift commitment)

PHLF’s 2010 Landmarks Heritage Society event will be held at Oakmont Country Club, a National Historic Landmark. Guests will enjoy dinner and a tour of the recently renovated 1904 clubhouse, and will hear about last-minute preparations for the U.S. Women’s Open at Oakmont (July 8-11). PHLF will honor preservationist and World Golf Hall of Fame member Carol Semple Thompson, who plans on attending the event, and will also discuss regional efforts to preserve historic country clubs.

Time: 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Meeting Location: Oakmont Country Club, 1233 Hulton Road, Oakmont, PA 15139-1199
By Invitation Only
Questions?: marylu@phlf.org; 412-471-5808, ext. 527
Program sponsors: The North Shore Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in Great Neck, New York, in cooperation with The Fownes Foundation

Bus Tour to Historic Harmony, PA

Join us for a bus tour to Harmony, PA, located 30 miles north of Pittsburgh. We’ll tour the museum and Historic District and enjoy a German buffet meal. You’ll hear about the regional and national importance of this community, founded in 1804, and about the role PHLF and Historic Harmony, Inc. have played in preserving eight historic properties through easements.  Tour participants will also be able to attend a special regional meeting for preservation organizations addressing the benefits of using historic easements to protect endangered properties.

Time: 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Meeting Location: Freight House Shops entrance opposite the parking garage, Station Square.
Fee: $48 (PHLF Members); $65 (Non-Members)
Questions/Reservations: by August 20th to marylu@phlf.org; 412-471-5808, ext. 527
Limited to 40 people.

Exclusive Market and Fifth Downtown Walking Tour

Tour some of downtown’s newest places to live, work, shop, and exercise. PHLF, PNC Bank, Millcraft Industries, and E. V. Bishoff Company are opening their recently-completed projects for a special tour. You’ll hear about (and see inside) Three PNC Plaza––Pittsburgh’s newest skyscraper and the nation’s largest mixed-use “green” development. You’ll tour the Fairmont Hotel (within Three PNC) and see apartments in Market at Fifth, Market Square Place (including the new YMCA), Piatt Place, and the Carlyle.

Time: 2:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Meeting Location: PNC’s Triangle Park, Fifth Avenue and Liberty Avenue, Downtown
Fee: $10 PHLF members; $20 non-members
Questions/Reservations: marylu@phlf.org; 412-471-5808, ext. 527
Limited to 25 people.

Renovation & Preservation Weekend: Celebrating & Exploring the Homes and Properties of Our Region

Thinking of renovating or updating your house or historic property? The Heinz History Center, Community Design Center of Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation are collaborating on a 2-day “Renovation and Preservation Weekend,” a consumer-driven renovation, preservation, and home resources fair to be held at the Heinz History Center. You’ll be able to meet with restoration experts, see hands-on demonstrations by craftspeople, and attend informational presentations on maintaining your house and gardens. PHLF will be providing hands-on activities for children and will have a booth promoting its Housing Resource Center.

Time: Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; Sunday: 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Event Location: Senator John Heinz History Center, 1212 Smallman Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Special Tour: Louise Sturgess of PHLF will lead a free walking tour on Sunday, September 26, from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. of the History Center’s neighborhood.  Meet outside the History Center entrance on Smallman St. at 9:00 a.m. near the Three Rivers Stadium goal posts.
Fee: Admission to the History Center, that’s all!
Questions?: Heinz History Center: 412-454-6359; Robert Stakeley, rostakeley@heinzhistorycenter.org

Evening Reception at 5061 Fifth Avenue
By Invitation Only:  For Landmarks Heritage Society Members and 25+ Year Members

(Landmarks Heritage Society Membership requires an annual contribution of $1,000 or more or a planned gift commitment)

PHLF President and Co-founder Arthur P. Ziegler, Jr. will briefly discuss the work and impact of PHLF and guests will have the chance to tour a magnificent Second-Empire house, the oldest survivor of Shadyside’s “Millionaire’s Row.” Our hosts, Marina and Ken Lehn, purchased 5061 Fifth Avenue in 2002 and have undertaken major restoration improvements. 5061 Fifth Avenue is known as the Negley/Gwinner house because it was built in 1870-71 for Civil War Veteran and Attorney William B. Negley and his wife Joanna and was remodeled in 1911, 1912, and 1922 by Pittsburgh architect Frederick J. Osterling for contractor Edward W. Gwinner.

Time: 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Meeting Location: 5061 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15232
By Invitation Only: $50 per person ($25 is a tax-deductible contribution to PHLF)
Questions?: marylu@phlf.org; 412-471-5808, ext. 527

Wilkinsburg Walking Tour

So much is happening in Wilkinsburg. See PHLF’s Housing Resource Center at 744 Rebecca Avenue, and hear about the Crescent and Wilson apartment restoration program. We’ll also see several houses in the historic Hamnett Place neighborhood that have been restored through the efforts of PHLF and Allegheny County. You’ll hear how PHLF and the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation are working together to revitalize the neighborhood, thanks to a Neighborhood Partnership Program with TriState Capital Bank. After the tour, we encourage you to dine at Jean’s Southern Cuisine, where you can get the best (and most affordable) catfish dinner with braised cabbage, anywhere. Tour guides will include Tracey Evans, Executive Director of the Wilkinsburg CDC; Wilkinsburg resident Lazae LaSpina, Project Manager of the Whitney Avenue Art Gallery; and Michael Sriprasert and Louise Sturgess from PHLF.

Time: 2:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Meeting Location: PHLF’s Housing Resource Center, 744 Rebecca Avenue (at corner of Jeanette St): on-street parking available.
Fee: Free for everyone.
Questions/Reservations: marylu@phlf.org; 412-471-5808, ext. 527
Limited to 40 people.